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So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Luke 15:20

Jesus was a master story teller. Many of his most meaningful teachings came through stories we call parables, stories with a lesson to be learned. One of my favorites is the parable of the loving father. You may know it by another name, a name that I think really takes away from the main message. It’s often referred to as the parable of the Prodigal Son. But remember, while God’s word is inspired, chapter divisions, verse divisions and titles are man-made additions, and the title of Prodigal Son misses the point in my opinion.

Why? You may ask? Because the two sons in this story aren’t the stars. The father is the star of the story. Here he is, apparently wealthy and from what we can see, a loving and compassionate man to both family and servants.

He had at least two sons that we know of. One, the older son, was responsible, hard-working, dependable and had a keen sense of right and wrong. The younger son? I’m guessing he was a bit of a rule breaker growing up. He liked to stretch the limits, question the ‘why’, wonder what was out there in the world. He may have had a strong case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

Some things haven’t really changed since this story was told. Older brothers often look down on younger brothers. Younger brothers often seek to find their own way and try to get out of the shadow of the older sibling. In some ways, it was worse in Jesus’ day the inheritance in this family would be divided three ways. Two-thirds of the inheritance would go to the older brother, one-third would go to the younger brother.

We don’t know what triggered it. Was there a last straw? Had he had enough of being bossed around by older brother? Did he realize (in his mind) there wasn’t much a future with dear old dad? We aren’t told, of course, but what we do know is that at some point, the younger son requested his part of the inheritance and struck out on his own. Off to see the world! Off to enjoy what he’d been missing.

He lived well, for awhile. He made friends. He made bad choices. He may have broken every ‘rule’ his father had taught him. But he was free (in his mind) to do as he pleased…until the money ran out and his friends ran off.

We can assume that this was a Jewish boy, since the setting was in Jesus time and he was Jewish. All good Jewish boys were taught in the early days of synagogue school that pork (and this pigs) were defiled and to be avoided at all costs. Imagine, if you will, a world without bacon! (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one)

Sitting in a field, alone with his thoughts, the pigs and hunger pains, the boy came to his senses. He made the difficult, humiliating decision to go home. Every step of the way he practiced his speech.

“I blew it dad. I wasted every penny you gave me. I made bad decisions. I defamed our family name. I am an embarrassment to myself and you. I ask nothing more than a job.”

The younger son remembered dad. He remembered (now) how fair, compassionate, reasonable and loving dad was. Loving? Yes, loving. Sometimes loving father’s will allow things to happen, choices to be made and decisions to follow even when they know what is best.

It was the dad that saw the boy first. Disheveled as he was, dad recognized his gait and ran to meet him. The speech as made, and ignored. There was a party to plan, guests to invite, a meal to prepare, a band to hire. Too much to do to be bothered by the past.

In the meantime, older brother scowled. He’d done all the right things (for the wrong reasons?) He’d heard the stories of younger brother and was so offended by his actions that he referred to him as his fathers son, not his brother.

Two brothers. One, a rules follower intent on being guaranteed a great inheritance. Relationship could wait. The other? Someone who was willing to take a chance. Did he make good choices? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Did he drag dad’s name in the mud? Perhaps. Did that change the father’s response? Never.

So where would you place your self in this story? Have you made some bad decisions, bad choices that have hurt you and those you love? You can come home you know. Dad’s waiting.

Are you the older son? The one who places rules over relationship; who looks with disdain on those who sin differently than you; who is more about protecting your view of purity over showing love and compassion? Dad invites you in to the party. Dad asks you to put the past behind, to celebrate recovery, to choose grace over law.

Or perhaps you are the Graceful Father. We’re all called to be one you know. We are called to see the disheveled, welcome those who’ve made bad choices; show grace to those who deserve it the least.

It’s time to come home. It’s time to join the party. It’s time to show grace to those who have failed.